Ed Markey wants outside money out of Mass. race

The special election for Sen. John Kerry’s seat may get slightly less expensive.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the only candidate to officially announce his bid for the seat in the event that Kerry is confirmed as secretary of state, challenged his future opponents to pledge to keep outside groups from spending money on the race.

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) took the same pledge in their 2012 campaign, but their campaigns spent a combined $80 million without including outside groups.

“If all the candidates agree, we can give the voters the kind of debate they deserve,” Markey said in a statement Monday. “This election should be a forum for the voices of everyday voters, not attacks from Karl Rove and other outside special interests.”

Markey’s announcement comes as outside groups were gearing up for the race, which is expected to see cash pouring in from all corners of the country in a short period of time.

The pledge by Warren and Brown didn’t hold up for the entire election as groups like Crossroads GPS, League of Conservation Voters and the pro-Brown super PAC America 360 got involved.

One of those groups, the League of Conservation Voters, which has already endorsed Markey in the special election, spent $1.1 million on the 2012 race, hitting Brown on his environmental record with ads before the pledge was made, direct mail and field organization. A spokesman for the group, Jeff Gohringer, said the group will be prepared to do the same this year if needed.

“Like last year, we would be inclined to honor a ‘People’s Pledge,’ as long as Karl Rove and big polluters do the same,” Gohringer told POLITICO.

Others like Democratic oppo shop American Bridge 21st Century previously told POLITICO that the pledge in 2012 affected their level of involvement in the race.

“Given the People’s Pledge, we weren’t as present there in 2012 as we will be in the special,” Chris Harris, a spokesman for the group, had said prior to Markey’s announcement. Harris did not immediately respond to say whether American Bridge would change its plans.

And even if the candidates accept the pledge, candidate-specific super PACs could emerge.

Pro-Brown super PAC America 360 spent $1.4 million mostly during the last two weeks of the 2012 election after receiving large last-minute checks from megadonors such as casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam and OxBow Corp. Chief Executive Officer Bill Koch.